Chen Mingsheng followed Bai Ji to the table, and the waiter placed more than a dozen plates on the table one after another, complete with meat, vegetables and seafood.
The hot pot was served last, Bai Ji wiped his hands with a wet handkerchief, and said to the waiter who served the food, "Go and open two bottles of good wine."
"OK, just a second."
The waiter went down to get the wine, Baiji patted Chen Mingsheng on the shoulder, and said, "Have you eaten this morning?"
Chen Mingsheng said, "I didn't eat much."
Bai Ji said, "Come on, it's just right, let's talk while eating."
Eating hot pot is one of Baiji's hobbies. He has a heavy mouth, and he especially likes to eat spicy or even offensive food. The atmosphere at the dinner table was very relaxed. Wu Jianshan, Liu Wei and one person toasted in turn, and Chen Mingsheng took them one by one.
Baiji likes to eat hot pot by himself. He waved his hand and told several waiters to go down. When the hot pot was opened, he picked up a chopstick of mutton and put it in.
"Ah Ming, what have you been doing for so long?" Bai Ji asked casually.
Chen Mingsheng said: "I didn't do anything, I spent most of the time recovering from my injuries."
Bai Ji nodded. He rinsed the mutton a few times, turned his eyes sideways, looked at Chen Mingsheng's legs, and said, "Is it my fault?"
"Huh?" Chen Mingsheng didn't realize it. He glanced at Bai Ji and noticed his gaze before he understood.
"No." Chen Mingsheng said, "Brother Bai, that has nothing to do with you."
Bai Ji ate a mouthful of mutton, and sighed: "I can't help it. The incident happened suddenly, so I had to withdraw first." He wiped his mouth with a handkerchief, and said, "Later, I asked Jianshan and the others to find you. I searched for more than half a month and couldn't find it."
"That's right." Wu Jianshan said, "Later, I took people to Dongxing to look for you for fifteen days, but there was no letter at all."
Liu Wei suddenly said: "Yes, Brother Ming. I went there too." He glanced at Wu Jianshan, then turned his eyes again, with a slightly playful expression on his face, "Brother Ming, we have been looking for you for a long time, I have some news from you None, where have you been?"
Bai Ji boiled another piece of meat, it seemed a little hot to eat, so he took a few breaths.
Chen Mingsheng said: "After the accident, I hid in Dongxing for a few days, and then I spent money to go north with a fruit truck."
Liu Wei said: "We released the news, didn't you notice it?"
Chen Mingsheng said, "No."
Liu Wei laughed. He was about thirty years old and looked a little younger than Chen Mingsheng. He was not ugly, but there was always a hint of cruelty on his face. Especially when he saw Chen Mingsheng, it was very obvious.
He called Brother Ming, but there was not a trace of respect in that voice. All the old fritters in the room could hear it, but no one showed anything.
Chen Mingsheng glanced at him.
This Liu Wei, he met five years ago. He had been with Bai Ji for several years.
Liu Wei first worked in a mahjong parlor. Baiji wanted to take over the store at the time, but the owner didn't want to sell it, so he was very uncooperative. Bai Ji managed to find a way to meet a small worker in the mahjong parlor, that is Liu Wei.
Bai Ji gave Liu Wei a sum of money, and Liu Wei readily tricked his boss and locked him in. Bai Ji bought the shop, and Liu Wei followed Bai Ji logically.
Speaking of which, it is thanks to Chen Mingsheng that Liu Wein was able to get from a small mahjong parlor worker to today, because Chen Mingsheng was the one who went to the mahjong parlor to find someone.
This is not the kindness of knowing you, on the contrary, to a certain extent, this also determines the future relationship between Chen Mingsheng and Liu Wei.
The reason why Chen Mingsheng found Liu Wei was because he could see that Liu Wei was the kind of person who would not yield to the present. Not only that, he also saw that Liu Wei was a selfish, vicious person who would do anything for himself people.
Just because he saw this, even though he brought Liu Wei out, he didn't have much contact with Liu Wei.
At the beginning, Liu Wei wanted to follow Chen Mingsheng, but later he found that whether it was giving cigarettes, wine, or other courtesies, Chen Mingsheng seemed never to be moved.
People are often like this. In the process of getting along, everyone will find that other people are different from themselves, and when they realize the inner difference brought about by this difference, the original positive feelings will also be transformed into invisible malicious.
This is especially true for people like Liu Wei.
Later, he followed Wu Jianshan's subordinates. Wu Jianshan was also a popular person around Baiji and treated him well, but he always had a grudge against Chen Mingsheng.
He felt that Chen Mingsheng was a little different.
Compared with other people who follow this way, there is something special about him. He can't tell what it is, but he just feels that Chen Mingsheng is different.
And it seems that many people can realize his difference. For this difference, they moved to Chen Mingsheng's side.
If one had to describe his kind of difference, some people might use words like this—calm, brave, and manly. There are even some words that don't seem to appear among people like them, such as firmness and loyalty.
Chen Mingsheng will always be Bai Ji's most reassuring thing when doing things.
That's why Liu Wei loathed Chen Mingsheng, and that loathing was deeply buried in his heart. Chen Mingsheng wouldn't look at him more, so his loathing would only get deeper and deeper.
"Brother Ming, if you have something to do, you have to leave. It's not like everyone won't help you." Liu Wei looked at Chen Mingsheng and said.
Wu Jianshan said: "This is true, I have been looking for you."
Chen Mingsheng said, "I know."
"You know why you're still running." Liu Wei smiled, glanced at Bai Ji nonchalantly, and said, "Do you have any opinions on us?"
Having said that, I understand basically everything I understand.
Chen Mingsheng was holding chopsticks in his hand, but he hadn't eaten all the time. He heard Liu Wei's words, he was silent for a while, then suddenly smiled in a low voice, and then raised his eyes, his eyes were cold and quiet.
"Where am I going?" Chen Mingsheng said in a low voice, "I had one leg crushed by a car, and I hid in the kitchen of a restaurant. All the hotels are surrounded by police. Why do you think I am going?"
Liu Wei shrugged, and said with a little confidence: "What's the matter, it's not that we're not here, we're all looking for you."
Chen Mingsheng said: "After the blockade period, I left soon, and my leg needed to be treated as soon as possible. At that time, Dongxing was in chaos, and the police were everywhere..." Chen Mingsheng paused slightly when he said this, and glanced at Liu Wei, The corner of his mouth twitched slightly, and he smiled meaningfully. He whispered, "Do you dare to show your face in front of the police?"
Liu Wei's complexion suddenly became a little strange, and his eyes became a little cruel.
"Why don't I dare, the police are nothing."
Perhaps it was because Chen Mingsheng's expression was too indifferent, but Liu Wei's tone had changed a little because of the ruthlessness.
Chen Mingsheng moved his chopsticks lightly, and said slowly, "Well, the police are really nothing."
"you-"
"Okay." Bai Ji's voice sounded, and everyone shut their mouths.
Bai Ji ate in full swing, his face was rosy, and a thin layer of sweat oozed from his forehead. He tapped the hot pot with his chopsticks and said, "I've already talked about eating, why do I keep talking about this?"
Chen Mingsheng reached out to pick up a piece of sugared garlic and put it in the bowl. Liu Wei looked up at him, but neither of them said anything more.
After eating for a while, Bai Ji said, "Ah Ming, where do you live now?"
Chen Mingsheng said, "It's at Green Lake."
Bai Ji nodded and said, "You just came back, take a two-day rest first." Then, he gestured to the person on the table who hadn't spoken to him all this time, and said, "If you need anything, please contact Guo directly." son."
The man named Guo Zi seemed to be the youngest, only in his twenties, not tall, and like Bai Ji, he wore a pair of glasses and looked gentle.
Guo Zichong nodded to Chen Mingsheng and said, "Brother Ming."
Chen Mingsheng sized him up for a while, then looked at Bai Ji, and said, "He is—"
"Ah, I haven't had time to introduce you, this is Guo Zi, I brought it from home, young man, don't know anything, just exercise." Bai Ji patted Guo Zi on the shoulder and said, "This is Jiang's name, you must have heard of it."
"I've heard of it." Guo Zi said quickly, "Sister Weiwei has mentioned it many times, and every time she said Brother Ming is this." He said while raising his thumb.
"Hey." Bai Ji looked at her, burst into laughter, and said, "This girl doesn't understand anything, she's still like a child at a grown-up."
Guo Zi laughed too, and said, "Sister Weiwei is just a child."
As soon as he said the words, he immediately realized that something was wrong, and it was too late to change his words. Bai Ji looked at him without blinking, looking at him with the heat from the hot pot, like a wax figure. Guo Zi's hand trembled, a chopstick fell down and hit the porcelain bowl with a crisp sound.
"No, brother Bai... I—"
Guo Zi still had a smile on his face, which was so ridiculous that his words were somewhat incoherent.
"I mean, Sister Weiwei, she, she..."
Chen Mingsheng's chopsticks rested on Tang Suan and did not move. No one on the table moved.
Bai Ji's expression relaxed for a moment, and he said briskly, "What are you doing for dinner?"
Wu Jianshan nodded, "Eat, eat, everyone is eating, the pot is boiling."
Chen Mingsheng picked up the sugar garlic and put it in his mouth.
Bai Ji opened a bottle of red wine for Chen Mingsheng, and said, "Wait a few days to recover and remember to go to the garden."
Chen Mingsheng understood what he meant, nodded and said, "I will go tomorrow."
After hearing what he said, Bai Ji grinned, the silver frame of the mirror reflected light. "Okay, that's right."
They clinked glasses, and Chen Mingsheng drank the wine down.
Seeing him drinking like this, Wu Jianshan smiled and said, "Ah Ming, this is not how you drink wine."
Chen Mingsheng smiled and said, "Really, I haven't drunk this a few times, so I don't know the rules."
Wu Jianshan said: "I was taught by Brother Bai several times before I learned it."
Bai Ji waved his hand and said, "The rules are all for deceiving people. As long as you drink the wine well, you can drink it however you want."
Wu Jianshan said, "What Brother Bai said is true."
Liu Wei looked up at Chen Mingsheng, Bai Ji's preference for covering up was too obvious. He picked up the glass and drank the wine in one gulp.
The meal was eaten for two hours, after which everyone broke up.
Bai Ji took Wu Jianshan's car and left. Before leaving, he left Chen Mingsheng a car key. Bai Ji said, "There's one parked outside, you drive first."
Chen Mingsheng nodded, "Thank you, Brother Bai."
After they left, Chen Mingsheng leaned against the wall at the entrance of the bar and smoked a cigarette.
Bai Ji didn't tell him something.
After he left with Wu Jianshan, Liu Wei and Guo Zi's car followed behind. Chen Mingsheng recalled their expressions when they left for the last time. After Liu Wei saw him staying alone, his expression was filled with uncontrollable excitement.
Chen Mingsheng took his last puff of cigarette unhurriedly and pinched out the cigarette end.
He didn't leave, but turned around and returned to Mingdu.
Ah Yan was just below, and when he heard a voice, he stretched his neck and looked this way.
"Brother Ming!" Seeing Chen Mingsheng coming back, Ah Yan put down his work and ran over, saying, "Brother Ming, you didn't leave."
"En." Chen Mingsheng turned his head and said, "Come here."
Chen Mingsheng brought Ah Yan to the corner of the bar, and they sat on a semicircular sofa. Ah Yan said, "Brother Ming, I'll ask someone to turn on the light, it's too dark."
"It's okay." Chen Mingsheng sat down and said, "No need to drive."
Ah Yan said, "Then I'll ask them to bring a fruit plate."
Chen Mingsheng didn't object, and Ah Yan shouted inside: "Bring a fruit plate!"
After a while, a waiter brought a large fruit plate, double-layered, with fruit cut in a variety of ways and beautifully arranged.
Ah Yan gave Chen Mingsheng a fork and said, "Brother Ming, eat the fruit plate."
Chen Mingsheng took the fork, but instead of forking the fruit, he shook it in his hand and said, "Ah Yan, what's up lately?"
"What's the matter?" Ah Yan thought for a while and said, "The biggest thing is that you are back!"
Chen Mingsheng smiled and said, "Except for this." He raised his eyes and glanced at Ah Yan, who immediately understood what this "thing" was referring to.
Ah Yan leaned over and whispered in Chen Mingsheng's ear, "Brother Ming, there is indeed something wrong."
Chen Mingsheng forked a piece of cantaloupe and put it in his mouth.
Ah Yan added: "I don't know the specifics, but I heard people say that Brother Bai seems to be shipping a batch of goods."
Chen Mingsheng said: "Isn't it that I was investigated not long ago, why did I get lucky so quickly?"
Ah Yan frowned and said, "I can't help it. The rush over there is tight. The last time the shipment was messed up by that group of policemen, Brother Bai lost at least this amount." As Yan said, he stood by Chen Mingsheng's side. Hold out four fingers.
"But fortunately, everyone ran out." A Yan said, "I found a chance to make that note later, so it's not considered a compensation."
After Chen Mingsheng took a bite of cantaloupe, he never used the fork in his hand, but tapped the fruit plate repeatedly.
"This is the first time I've heard of it. You all know such an important thing."
"I must know." Ah Yan stared at him and said, "He wants to let the whole world know."
Chen Mingsheng: "Who?"
"Liu Wei." Ah Yan lowered his voice and whispered to Chen Mingsheng: "Although there is no evidence, we all know that it was he who gave the head of the anti-drug team to—" Ah Yan didn't finish speaking, and put his fingers together, Swipe forward.
Chen Mingsheng looked at that hand, gestured neatly, his eyes fell on Ah Yan's fingertips, and said inaudibly: "Really."
Ah Yan said: "How else could he climb so fast." His tone was a bit sour, "Brother Bai will probably let him go for this shipment."
After he finished speaking, seeing that Chen Mingsheng hadn't spoken, he kept his head down, and said, "But brother Ming, you don't have to worry too much. After all, you've been away for so long, and you came back suddenly, and..." Ah Yan didn't dare to mention Chen Mingsheng's leg , and said briefly: "Based on your friendship with Brother Bai, this way will still be yours in a short time."
He said with a smile: "Brother Ming will cover us up more then."
Chen Mingsheng still didn't speak. In the dark corner, Ah Yan couldn't see his face, but could only see the small silver fork in his hand, tapping on the fruit plate.
steady, calm, regular,
As if planning something.